Manchester United quiet in transfer market since Malcolm Glazer's takeover

Manchester United's retreat from the top end of the transfer market has been highlighted by official club figures which reveal that a net sum of only £32.4 million has been invested on new players since the Glazer family's takeover in May 2005.

Quiet: official Manchester United figures reveal only £32.4 million has been invested on new players since Glazer family's takeover in May 2005Photo: GETTY IMAGES

By Mark Ogden

7:00AM GMT 04 Dec 2009

United's decision to walk away from a £10 million option to buy Partizan Belgrade teenager Adem Ljajic this week has prompted claims by the Serbian club that a 'financial crisis' at Old Trafford prompted the deal to collapse.

Senior United officials have strongly rejected Partizan's assertions by insisting that the decision not to sign the 18 year-old was based solely on his football ability.

But with the net spending under the Glazers amounting to an average of just £6.48 million a season, the club's failure to reinvest the £80 million banked from the sale of Cristiano Ronaldo to Real Madrid this summer has prompted fears among supporters that the club's main priority is now to service their £699 million debt rather than strengthen Sir Alex Ferguson's first-team squad.

The sale of Ronaldo, the £5 million raised from Fraizer Campbell's transfer to Sunderland and the decision not to take up a £25.5 million option to sign Carlos Tevez or the £10 million deal for Ljajic, has left United with an apparent £100 million transfer fund once the £20 million summer signings of Antonio Valencia and Gabriel Obertan are accounted for.

Duncan Drasdo, the chief executive of the Manchester United Supporters' Trust, said: "Whatever the reason for the Ljajic deal falling through, the fact is, with the revenues flowing into the club, Manchester United should be competing with Real Madrid and Barcelona for players of the calibre of Lionel Messi and Kaka. But instead, we have to carry the deadweight of the Glazers' ownership on our backs.

"The true picture will not be clear until after the January transfer window, but with the £80 million Ronaldo transfer fee, plus the supposed £25-30 million annual transfer kitty, a spend of £100 million would effectively be break-even.

"Supporters will rightly be asking where the money has gone when they've been forced to pay more and more through the huge ticket-price rises in recent years."

A spokesman for the Glazer family insisted during the summer that £60 million could be "reinvested in the squad, doing up the toilets or on new carpets", but United spent a mere £20 million on Valencia and Obertan during the closed season after refusing to meet the £35 million valuation of Lyon forward Karim Benzema.

According to United's figures, the club spent a net £8.1 million on transfers in the year ending June 2006, followed by £1.2 million in 2007 and £44.9 million in 2008 before making a profit of £38.7 million in 2009 following the sale of Ronaldo.

Since June of this year, United have spent a net £16.9 million.

Manchester City's £117.5 million summer spending spree highlights United's more cautious spending approach, with Ferguson claiming there is little value in the current market.

As a result, United have set their sights on the likes of Napoli midfielder Marek Hamsik and Wolfsburg forward Edin Dzeko as recruitment targets rather than challenge Chelsea for the £40 million-rated Sergio Aguero.

Meanwhile, Rio Ferdinand is targeting a first-team return in the FA Cup third-round tie against Kettering or Leeds next month after undergoing intensive treatment on a long-term back problem.